Hero in Disguise essay

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Hero in Disguise
As soon as the name Henry Drummond is announced during scene one, everybody gasps in horror and they begin trying to find reasons to keep him out of there town. Some of them tell stories about how awful he is, and even there “hero” Brady is shocked and terrified at the thought of going up against him in court. Right away Henry Drummond is marked as the villain.
However, throughout the play you see that Henry Drummond actually is a very determined, considerate, passionate, courageous character and he unexpectedly played the role of a hero during this play. Out of his many characteristics of a hero I chose these three that stand out to me the most.
First of all, I find henry Drummond very determined, because although he has next to no chance at all, he won’t give up. He is coming into a town where everybody is strong believers in the bible, where all the people curse his name and damn him to hell, where everybody would love to see his client, Bertram Cates, in jail, and him kicked out of there town. He has no supporters here in this town. Everybody hates him! This is how Reverend Brown explains him;
(Act 1, scene 1, pg. 28)
“I can still see him. / A slouching hulk of a man, whose head juts out like an animals./ You look into his face and wonder why god made such a man./ Then you know that god didn’t make him, and that he is a creature of the devil, perhaps even the devil himself.”
Now you see how much they hate him? They think that he is the devil, there truest enemy, himself! So out of all these people, he needs to pick his jury for the trial. So great, the jury hates him, and disagrees with every word he said even before the trail even begins! Wow, he is up to a great start. So, Drummond brings in his own witnesses because obviously he is not going to find any witnesses in this town! But the jury refuses every single one of his witnesses and the book “the Origin of Species” because apparently it has nothing to do with the court. Still with all these disadvantages, he still won’t cave in.

Secondly, Henry Drummond actually does show quite a bit of compassion and consideration throughout this play, showing that he is a human being and he is considerate towards others and how his actions will affect them. Even though everybody in this town suspects him to be a heartless, cruel, evil minded creature, he proves to them through his actions that he does feel pity and compassion for others and that he does have a soft side. Like when Racheal is begging him to call it off and he turns to Cates and tells him that if he truly believes that he was wrong that Drummond will leave, go back to Chicago and Cates will be set free. Racheal insists that Drummond does not care about Bert at all, and he replies to her by saying,
(Act 1, Scene 2, pg. 51)
“I care about Bert. / I care a great deal about what Bert thinks”
“I understand what Bert is going through./ It’s the loneliest feeling in the world- to find yourself standing up when everybody else is sitting down./ I know./ I know what it feels like, walking down an empty street, listening to the sound of your own footsteps.”
What Drummond is trying to say is that, he knows what it feels like and this is why he came all this way voluntarily, to help Cates. To give him the freedom, choices and rights he deserves. Later on, at Brady’s tragic death, Hornbeck begins to insult Brady. Surprisingly, Drummond sticks up for his opponent. (Act 3, scene 1, pg.126)
“I can’t imagine the world without Matthew Harrison Brady.”
“There was much greatness in this man.”
-Drummond
Drummond is clearly upsetted by Brady’s death and he doesn’t even try to hide it. He sticks up for Brady even when Hornbeck turns on him.

Last of all, Henry Drummond is constantly referring back to the right to think and the freedom of thought since he is very passionate about these topics. He
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